Craft Sale

On Friday after Thanksgiving, instead of hitting a mall to start Christmas shopping,  my friend Ingrid and I went to a special craft sale at Karen's home. She had some wonderful things and I'm glad we stopped.

 

 

I decided I could not live without this wool appliqued Merry Christmas banner and bought that along with a wool appliqued case for my glasses. (I have not worked much with wool but it's on the list. . . )

 

 

 

I love Christmas greeting signs and am sure that Karen made this especially with me in mind, LOL. How did she know??

 

 

 

(Scrappy Stars quilt is from my book Remembering Adelia)

 

I haven't started decorating for Christmas yet but think I will hang it above the doorway from the front hall to the living room.

 

This black frame is the perfect size to show off a small, primitive appliqued quilt I'm working on (no, not wool).

 

 

(FYI - Karen said this case is made from a Kim Diehl pattern.)

 

 

It also works as a case for your rotary cutter.

 

On the way home we stopped at a couple of local shops, avoiding the big malls and the crowds.  I hate shopping on Black Friday but the crowds were not too bad at a few of the small malls we went to and I was able to pick up a few stocking stuffers for my daughter, including this adorable coffee/tea travel mug with pink dog bones on it, so sweet.

 

(Don't worry about me spoiling the surprise. I'm pretty sure my daughter would not be caught dead looking at my blog, LOL . . .)

 

We also stopped at PetSmart but I could NOT find a battery-operated crazy ball for the dog, darn it. We used to have one for the other dog and it broke. My kids are grown and there are no small children in the  family so I have to get my Christmas jollies buying toys for the dog, how sad is that?

 

Please, please won't you buy me a new toy for Christmas? "Sheepie" is starting to get a little ratty looking . . . . By the way, speaking of ratty, I could use a haircut too.

 

I was sooo tired when I got home (the three days of cooking, cleaning and entertaining for Thanksgiving finally caught up with me) that I just heated up some leftovers and crawled under a quilt and read and watched TV for a few hours, LOL. Then I got up and ate some pie. A good day.

 

 (Soldier's Cot quilt from Remembering Adelia)

 

Happy Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.
 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

I'm feeling very grateful lately. I have a wonderful family - we have a roof over our heads and more than enough to eat. Sometimes I wonder, what else do we need? Not everyone in this country is as blessed right now.

 

 

I'll be starting the cooking and baking today and tomorrow we'll have a bounty to share with family and friends. Even more to be grateful for.

 

 

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

 

 

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving."   ~H.U. Westermayer

 

 

"Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart."   ~George Herbert

 

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."   ~E.P. Powell

 

I burned the pecan pie a bit last year so wish me luck -  I'll be trying it again!

 

 

 

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.   ~Meister Eckhart

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you - the wonderful quilting friends I've met through this blog. I am especially grateful for your support and kindness all these years and hope that those of you who are celebrating the holiday with family and friends have a blessed time and safe travels.

 

 

Karen's Quilts

If you love traditional quilts you'll enjoy seeing what Karen Schultz came up with for her challenge quilts. Like Sue, who was profiled here last week, Karen also made the quilts from this year's small quilt challenge.

Karen (middle) flanked by Becky and Melody (who are also members of my Small Quilt group)

Karen has been quilting for over thirty years and started out making simple patchwork quilts for friends and family. "They were all large quilts so you can imagine how happy I was with the invention of the rotary cutter!"  

Like many of us, she became interested in small quilts when her two girls "needed" them for their dolls. Patterns from the Little Quilts books (and my books too) gave her the inspiration to create a number of small quilts to go along with the primitive decor in her home.

 

Karen and her husband Bill started their craft business Stitches & Wood Chips in 1993 when they set up a booth in a Country Sampler shop and have now moved on to making mostly primitive items which they sell at craft shows. After 38 years of marriage and 8 grandchildren, they still enjoy crafting together. You may remember seeing some of Karen's primitive items on my blog now and then. I especially love the 2 doll beds that they crafted for me and the black wooden tray that's shown in the picture of this month's quilt.

 

 

Don't you just love her displays?? I think this one is my favorite . . .

 

 

No, wait, maybe this one . . . .

 

 

 

Thanks, Karen, for letting me show everyone the great work you've done with the quilts for the challenge this year. Can't wait to see more of your creations in our Yahoo group!

 

 

(If you live in the northwest suburban Chicago area, Karen is having a Holiday Craft Show with some of her primitive wares next week, Nov 23 -  24, Friday and Saturday. I went to her show last year and picked up some great items. E-mail me for details. Or, if it's too far from where you live and you are interested in purchasing a doll bed of your own, e-mail me again and I'll put you in touch with Karen. It's the perfect way to display some of the little quilts you've made!)

I Always Seem to Have So Much Fun

 

The other day I received a cute e-mail from someone thanking me for my blog  -  she enjoys it immensely and said it looks like I always do so many fun things, always have so much fun. Me?? You're kidding, right? My life is beyond boring I'm afraid and an exciting day for me lately is taking a walk with the dog and finding a penny, LOL. 

 

 

"Look, Mom, ANOTHER penny!"

 

Last week, however, I did make my own granola, from scratch. That was exciting and fun too. This week we have to buy a new dishwasher. That will certainly be a lot of fun. Last week I also burned the top part of my foot while refilling the steam vaporizer (ouch!). It blistered and hurt so much I couldn't wear a shoe for days, had to stay home, keep the foot clean and change the bandage often. But I read a few books and got caught up on some of my TV shows.  So maybe she's right -  depending upon how you look at it, I guess I DO always have a lot of fun.

 

Before the foot thing happened though, I took a quick trip to an antiques mall, just to look around, for fun.

 

 

Is this the coolest backing fabric? I didn't love the front of the quilt for some reason. Maybe it was the price tag.

 

 

I don't often see antique quilts that I love and just have to have.

 

 

 

 

(This reminded me of my little Feedsack Flower Garden quilt from American Doll Quilts.)

 

 

 

 

 

I walked past this one several times. It kept tugging at me and pulling me in for some reason. Can you see why? Maybe it was the cheerful prints on a gloomy day. So I gave in and bought it the 4th time around. It was surprisingly inexpensive and when I brought it up to the counter, they were giving something like 20 % off if you paid cash that day. Lucky me, I just happened to have some birthday money in my pocket. 

 

 

Isn't it adorable? The flowers almost seem to be dancing. Two of the petals were slightly frayed but still happy, not pathetic, and I love that in a quilt. I liked it better than the dark antique quilts I couldn't afford. And I love it even more now that it's home. Makes me want to dance when I look at it . . . .

 

(OMG, please forgive the corniness. Sometimes I cannot resist bringing out the silly dancing daisies, LOL.) 

 

Anyway, antiques malls are such fun. Sometimes you go 'round a corner and you never know what you'll find. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 - Till the NEXT time I have some fun to share with you . . . .